sex, dessert, library, wizard, hair cut

I got up early to get my hair cut. Yesterday I had a moment where I could no longer stand it touching the back of my neck and shoulders. The person who cuts my hair works in one of those mall salons, so I trekked out to Lakeline. It seemed uncommonly empty and dead. The cinnamon bun place is gone, woe. On the upside my hair is now super short and much more pleasing.

Tonight Mike is going to a physics lecture down at the UT campus. I'm going to drop him off so he doesn't have to mess with parking, and then go wander around Whole Foods. Buying some delicious groceries will be my prize.

Mememememememememe stolen from all over the place: comment on this post and I'll tell you five subjects/things I associate with you. Then you post them in your lj and elaborate.

From halfacork:
So five things!

Lucius' Library
sweet deserts
creativity
eloquence
sex

(I think you have some of the best sex of anyone I know=)

Score! I couldn't have asked for a better five thing reference for me.

Sex: I do have a pretty awesome sex life. (It is however both embarrassing and hysterical to think we have to whisper at night so as not to attract the attention of Needy Girlfriend Kitty, Jasmine, who will stand outside the door and meow piteously until Mike gets up to pet her.) In my relationship with Mike, I have made some progress on being better at communicating what I want both physically and emotionally. It helps that our quirks and kinks go together more or less. We both like hot Russians, and he doesn't mind if I turn over and fall asleep after sex. Haha. Plus, sex is excellent aerobic exercise and good for your abdominal muscles. I like to take pride in my skills.

Eloquence: From time to time, I turn a phrase into something lovely. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes it is hard. Even during the days when I barely spoke at all, I still worked hard at writing things out in my head. I think the best way to work on being eloquent is to be passionate about something and to be unafraid to talk and type until you get it right. I'm not a big believer in formula drafts, but editing is useful. Mostly I try to surround myself with eloquent people and learn from them.

Creativity: Oh creativity. You are one of my fickle mistresses. I feel as thought I have a lot of creativity, but often not the dedication. I am something of a jack of all trades, master of none. I speak a couple languages, enough to write haikus in all of them. (Man, I wonder if people really hated all those haiku postcards I sent from Prague. It is hard to write haikus with so many consonants.) I can sometimes come up with crafty goodness - once I made myself a coat of stretchy green velvet and brocade. I can string beads, knot pearls, paint trim, make up things in the kitchen and sometimes write stories.

Sweet desserts: Making desserts is my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. Feeding people sweets makes me inordinately happy. You can do a lot with simply just butter and sugar. Baking is something I've taught myself to do over the years. I like to make cherry pies, chocolate ganaches, fluffy layer cakes and crunchy macaroons. The only thing I'm not so enamored of would be cookies, but mostly because it requires so much back and forth - put the cookies in, take the cookies out, put more cookies in, find space for the cooling cookies. Though one of my favorite things in the world is a cookie bar recipe. It calls for one pound of almonds, one pound of butter, one pound of chocolate and one pound of sugar. NOM.

Lucius' Library: Perhaps my favorite decorative detail of my contribution of the world of HP fanfiction was Lucius Malfoy's extensive library. Full of floor to ceiling shelves of carved wood, one of those cavernous fireplaces big enough for roasting a pig, beveled glass panes to the arched windows, damask drapes, the long desk, the deep sofa, wing back chairs, countless books bound in leather or cloth, gilt letters on the spines, ivory and bone puzzle boxes, the never ending liquor cabinet. It's like every private library fantasy I've ever indulged, all in one gigantic space.

five random things

Five questions from brightflashes:

1. What is the first Vonnegut book you read?
I'm fairly certain it was Godbless You Mr Rosewater and it remains possibly my favorite of all his novels.

2. What are your top 5 BPAL scents?
* Love in the Asylum (a limited edition from June 2005) - It has this beautiful rose with carnation and tonka. It is my favorite rose perfume ever.

* Tombstone - The combination of sassafras and cedar is addictive. Hands down, this one smells the best on me off all things I've ever tried.

*Villain - All the anti-heroes and wizards in my stories smell like this. The combination of lime and lavender is herbal and sinister and elegant all at once.

*Vampire Tears (a limited edition from September 2007) - This one always makes me shout 'Vampires cry candy hear tears!' It has this salty sweetness that reminds me of those chalky candy hearts in the best way.

*Quincy Morris (From the Dracula series autumn 2006) - I initially bought this one thinking it would be similar to Tombstone. It's the masculine counterpart, less sweet but more subtle. I love the combination of pear and leather.

3. What is the last book you really enjoyed?
Right now I'm reaidng Caitlin Kiernan's newest book, A is For Alien. It is superbly beautiful, creepy and full of frightening future visions. There's a richness to her prose that is like drinking something rare, deadly, sweet and bitter all at once.

4. What is something that you've never blogged about that you feel comfortable sharing?
(Hmm. That's hard, mostly because I'm trying to think of something I haven't written about.)
I often spent the night at my friend's house during late elementary school to early middle school. I really love blueberry muffins but always felt awkward and awful when they appeared in the morning at her house. Her mother bought this generic box mix instead of the Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker. The muffins had a weird tangy, sour taste to them. I don't know why. This has always made me feel obscurely guilty.

5. What are your views on religion/spirituality?
I don't even know where to start with this one. I was raised without any religious teachings at all, which I don't recommend by the way. (I think it has a lot to do with my nihilistic nightmares.) In rebellion and searching for something, I converted to Roman Catholicism in 2000. Of course, I have a lot of issues with church policies on issues like homosexuality and the role of women in the church. Mostly I consider myself fumbling towards something. I love the ritual of worship in the Catholic church, the very physicality of which makes it easier for me to approach the invisible. I think we all need something, whatever it might be and that choice is a deeply personal one. I appreciate people who will have reasoned and reasonable discussions about their beliefs. I disagree with a lot of evangelism, finding it disrespectful and intrusive.